1 Informal Document No. GRRF th GRRF,31 January – February 4, 2005 Agenda Item 5.9. Submission by the United States of America for information on the status of rulemaking on tire pressure monitoring systems Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

2 Background U.S. Congress mandated a final rule to require a warning system “in motor vehicles to indicate to the operator when a tire is significantly under- inflated” be completed by November 1, 2001 Congress mandated that this rule must take effect by November 1, 2003

3 TPMS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Final Rule published on June 5, 2002 NHTSA sued by Consumer Groups to prevent use of 1-tire 30% under-inflation systems In August 2003, U.S. Court of Appeals invalidated final rule and directed the agency to publish a new final rule New NPRM published September 16, 2004 (Docket 19054)

4 Highlights of the NPRM Proposed requirements are performance-based and allows any design based on performance criteria: – Must detect under-inflation in 1 to 4 tires at the greater of 25 percent below placard pressure or minimum activation pressure – Must provide a warning within 10 minutes of under- inflation – Must provide a yellow Low pressure warning indicator – Must provide a yellow Malfunction indicator to warn of TPMS malfunction due to incompatible tires or other malfunction

5 Other Major Issues Addressed Other Major Issues – Replacement tire requirement has been dropped – Test course specified – Calibration procedures – Telltale symbols and color – Warning activation within 10 minutes – Disablement of TPMS – Concerns of small volume manufacturers

6 Effective Dates Proposed phase-in with effective date beginning: – September 1, 2005 for 50 percent installation – September 1, 2006 for 90 percent installation – September 1, 2007 for 100 percent installation Therefore, beginning September 1, 2007 all light vehicles are required to be equipped with a TPMS.

7 Low Tire Pressure Activation Tire TypeMax. Inflation Pressure (kPa) Min. Activation Pressure (kPa) P-metric - Standard P-metric – Extra Load LT load range C LT load range D LT load range E550320

8 Major Comments NPRM published with 60-day comment period. Major comments included: – Delay effective dates and phase-in – Increase low pressure detection time – Malfunction detection issues – Malfunction indicator lamp issues – Minimum activation pressures for LT tires

9 Next Steps Agency plans to publish Final Rule in 2005 Petitions for Reconsideration –Must be submitted within 45 days after the final rule is published